NPR News Now - NPR News: 09-13-2025 7PM EDT

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roran. President Trump says he's ready to impose new sanctions on Russia, but only with action from fellow NATO countries first. As NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports, it's Trump's latest threat as Russia continues attacking Ukraine. On social media, Trump posted what he said was the text of a letter to all NATO nations and the world. He wrote that he'll be ready to impose new sanctions on Russia when other NATO nations have stopped buying oil from the country.

He also said he wants NATO countries to impose tariffs of 50 to 100 percent on Chinese goods. China is a top buyer of Russian oil. Trump met with Putin in Alaska last month in an effort to broker peace in the Ukraine war. Since then, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine and its drones were also shot down in Polish airspace. And Trump has been facing pressure from within his own party to increase sanctions on Russia as its aggression has continued. Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News. More than 30 people across the country have been fired. put on leave, investigated, or faced calls to resign because of social media posts

criticizing Charlie Kirk, according to an analysis by NPR. Tensions remain high after the assassination of the conservative activist. Tony Gonzalez has more from member station WPLN in Nashville. An assistant dean at Middle Tennessee State University posted, quote, hate begets hate, zero sympathy about Kirk's death and was fired. The university president said the post undermined the university. University's credibility. At Cumberland University outside Nashville, a professor and staff member were fired over what administrators called their inappropriate posts. The school also canceled

the talk by journalist Matthew Dowd, who was fired by MSNBC over his commentary. And in Nashville, two emergency workers are on leave over social posts about Kirk. In some cases, prominent Republicans have drawn attention to the posts and applied pressure. For NPR News, I'm Tony Gonzalez in Nashville. The Trump administration wants to end a requirement for some of the largest climate-polluting industries to report their greenhouse gas emissions. As NPR's Jeff Brady reports, environmental groups say the proposal violates the law. The Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas reporting program requires companies that emit the most climate pollution to detail those emissions publicly. The companies include power plants and steel mills. The EPA also plans to suspend reporting for oil and gas.

facilities. The agency says this will save companies up to $2.4 billion in compliance costs over 10 years. Greenhouse gases from humans burning fossil fuels are heating the climate and causing more extreme weather, wildfires, and flooding. David Doniger with the Natural Resources Defense Council says the proposal is illegal, which means the final regulation, but almost certainly be challenged in court. Jeff Brady, NPR News. The Primetime Emmys are tomorrow night in Los Angeles. You're listening to NPR news. Polish military officials deployed military aircraft today, along with other allied nations in what's being called a preventative measure because of the threat posed by a drone attack

that was taking place in bordering Ukraine. Officials closed an airport in the eastern Polish city of Lubin as a precaution. The alert lasted two hours. Wednesday, multiple Russian drones were shot down by Polish fighter jets. A former college president, who led a lawsuit that changed historically black colleges and universities has died. Earl Robinson was the president of Morgan State University in Baltimore and put a spotlight on the funding discrepancies for HBCUs. NPR's Joseph Shapiro reports. Earl Richardson's death at age 81 was announced by Morgan State University. During the time he led the school in Baltimore from 1994 to 2010, student enrollment doubled and the campus

expanded. Richardson is known for the lawsuit he helped lead that gets compared to Brown versus the Board of Education. The lawsuit in Maryland argued that the state had failed to provide adequate funding to the state's HBCUs and had instead started and boosted competing programs at nearby majority white schools. The lawsuit took 15 years. In 2021, Maryland agreed to add more than a half billion dollars for the state's black colleges and universities. Joseph Shapiro, NPR News. The Federal Reserve meets next week to consider lowering interest rates. I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News.

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